The Burrowing Wood Tick Analogy
by kmd5133
Summary: This is my very special Christmas episode in my AU of S/P. It follows about a month after what happens in my previous stories The Vestigial Organ Recall & The Aesop Continuum , although you don't need to read those to follow this one. Enjoy!
1. November 30th

**Title: The Burrowing Wood Tick Analogy**

**Rating: PG-13**

**Disclaimer: I do not work for or have any affiliation with the network, the producers, the writers, etc. I make no monetary gains from this.**

_Synopsis for The Vestigial Organ Recall: Sheldon gets appendictis and Penny is the only one around to help him. The thread that holds Penny and Leonard's relationship together starts to stretch._

_Synopsis for The Aesop Continnum: Sheldon returns from the hospital and his family comes to visit. The thread that holds Penny and Leonard's relationship together snaps. Penny and Sheldon start growning closer._

* * *

**Chapter One**

**November 30th**

Penny bounded down the stairs and skipped over to her mailbox excitedly. She nearly careened in Sheldon who was also at the mailboxes gathering his and Leonard's mail.

"Hi Sheldon!" Penny beamed a smile at him that set his heart pounding in his chest. It was becoming a regular occurrence whenever he was around her and he didn't know quite what to do.

"Hello Penny." Sheldon took a step back from her boundless enthusiasm if only to regain his equilibrium. She was practically jumping up and down as she opened her mailbox and removed her overflowing mail.

She flipped through the assorted bills and magazines and pulled out a rectangular envelope, and did in fact start jumping up and down. "Yay!" Penny grabbed Sheldon in a hug and spun him around as she jumped up and down. "YAY!"

Sheldon tried to quash down the feelings he was having as they were making him flustered. He quickly extricated himself from Penny's grasp. "To what do we owe this latest bout of public displays of affection? Have the good people of the Publisher's Clearing House awarded you some sort of monetary prize?" He looked at her askance. "That was sarcasm."

Penny, unaware of Sheldon's inner turmoil, thought that Sheldon was trying to drag down her good mood. She decided that nothing he said would make that happen. "Sweetie, sarcasm aside, it may be a monetary prize, or rather a monetary gift. It's the birthday present from my parents!" She held up the long envelope in front of his face.

Sheldon turned to Penny as they started to climb the stairs, falling into the natural rhythm that had developed over the last three years. "You can't know what is inside Penny. It could be any number of things. A cheery note perhaps, or tickets to a play."

Penny held up the envelope to her forehead. "The Great Penski says it's a nice big check made out to me!"

Sheldon raised his eyebrows. "Do I need to state the obvious Penny? There is only one way to find out."

Penny jammed the rest her mail under her arm as she tore open the envelope. Her face fell. "What the hell?"

Sheldon paused in mid-step due to the change in her demeanor. "What's wrong Penny?"

Penny shook her head in disbelief. "Well, you were half right Sheldon."

"How so? I usually am always right." He continued his climb up the stairs.

Penny pulled out the contents on the envelope and waived them in Sheldon's face. "They're tickets all right. Only its plane tickets home to Nebraska, and oh wait, here's the cheery note, 'See you at Christmas honey!'"

Sheldon looked at Penny for a long moment. "You could cash the tickets in."

Penny looked at him as though he started speaking in tongues. "Are you insane? I can't do that!"

"Why ever not? You hoped for a cash gift, and did not receive said gift. Since you have obviously received something that you do not want, you should exchange it for something you do want…money." Sheldon grinned to himself at the logic of it all.

Penny put the tickets back in the envelope. "It doesn't work that way Sheldon."

Sheldon gave her a puzzled look. "As far as I am aware, that's exactly how it works."

"These are from my parents, Sheldon." Penny tried to make him see the sense of it. "I can't do that. It's not like it's a sweater." She looked down at her feet and said quietly. "I have to go home."

"Well, then that's settled."

"Hardly." Penny said as they stepped onto the landing for the fourth floor.

"Am I to take from your response that this is not the last of your complaints regarding the issue?" Sheldon did his best to make it seem as though he hoped it was.

Penny raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips together. "Ya think?"

Sheldon gave Penny a mock smile as he unlocked his door. "Oh goody!"

Penny couldn't help her own fake smile. "Sarcasm? Twice in less than five minutes? Now that's a terrific birthday present. And, it didn't even need to be wrapped."

Sheldon was suddenly overtly nervous and started fiddling with the mail in his own hands. He didn't mean to make her more upset than she already was. He was like a blind man walking towards a minefield when it came to dealing with the opposite sex. "You'll still come over later for your birthday dinner?" He said hopefully.

"Yeah, sure Sheldon," Penny turned back to him as she stood by her apartment door. "Nothing says happy 24th birthday like some take-out Thai food."

Sheldon smiled a real smile at her as he completely missed her use of sarcasm. "I'm glad Penny."

Penny's heart melted at the real smile, so she returned her own.

**Two Hours Later**

Penny sat on the couch nestled between Sheldon and Leonard with a brightly wrapped box in her hands.

"It's from all of us." Leonard said.

Howard interjected. "Yeah, we all chipped in."

Raj excitedly nodded his head.

"Yes, I think you'll find it to be the perfect gift." Sheldon said confidently.

Penny quickly removed the wrapping paper and found herself the proud owner of a new laptop. She smiled tentatively as the boys. "You shouldn't have. I don't know what to say."

"I believe the common response in situations like this, is thank you." stated Sheldon.

Penny sighed inwardly. "Thank you?"

Leonard quickly explained. "Well Penny, even with all the upgrades we done over the past couple of years on your current laptop…as well as cleaning up all the spills on your keyboard…"

"…and the fact that since you dumped Leonard, you've been playing a great deal of Age of Conan, which keeps crashing your old one." Howard waggled his eyebrows at her.

Penny looked at Raj who only held up his hands and shrugged his shoulders.

Sheldon decided that the others were not explaining things correctly. "Yes well, all of that aside Penny, it was time for you to move forward with your computing needs. I have already configured everything to run optimally.

Penny looked at all four of the boys. They were all so sweet in their geeky ways. It actually touched her heart that they had included her as one of their own. With true affection for all of them Penny said softly. "Thank you guys." She wiped away the beginnings of a tear from her eye. She took a deep breath in. "So, who wants to play?"

Leonard looked over to Howard and his eyebrows furrowed together. "Um, Penny?"

Penny looked up at Leonard because of the way he said her name. "What is it?"

"Well, here's the thing." Leonard's next words tumbled out at nearly the speed of light. "I, um, have a date with Stephanie tonight. I'm really sorry. I'm such a lousy friend. Please don't be mad at me."

Penny blinked a couple of time to process what she had just heard. It was okay. Leonard was moving on. She was the one who had broken it off between the two of them, and hadn't she been the one who pointed out that him and Stephanie had never resolved their relationship?

Howard interrupted her thoughts. "He's not the only one. Bernadette and I have reached a point in our relationship." He stopped and tried to be gentlemanly, but ultimately his inner horn dog won out. "I know it's your birthday, but I have a chance to get lucky tonight!"

Penny chuckled. "It's alright! Go, have fun! Hoist a drink in my honor tonight." She paused to correct herself. "Leonard can hoist a drink in my honor. Howard, I don't need you to hoist anything in my honor tonight!"

Howard smirked saucily at her as he headed towards the door. "Are you sure? I would be more than glad to…"

"Go Howard!" Penny pointed to the door.

"I should be going too." Leonard said as he stood up from the couch.

Penny stood up and gave him a hug. "Have fun tonight Leonard." She gave him another quick hug and a peck on the cheek. "And, thank you."

She plopped back down on the couch next to Sheldon and glanced over at Raj who was checking the time on his watch. "Not you too?"

He looked up at her and was helpless. He didn't want to do it, but he walked over to Sheldon and whispered in his ear.

"Oh dear Lord!" Sheldon exclaimed.

Raj looked at Sheldon and bit down on his lower lip nervously.

Penny looked at Raj and then back at Sheldon. "What?"

"Well Penny, apparently Monday nights are when Raj and my sister trade innocuous IMs with each other." Sheldon said as though he had bit down on a sour lemon.

Penny beamed at Raj. "Good for you honey! How's it going?"

Raj broke into a huge grin and gave her the two thumbs up.

"Then, what are you waiting for tiger? Go get her…or text her, you know!" Penny giggled.

"Oh dear Lord!" Sheldon repeated as Raj tore out the door.

Penny's heart thumped out a double beat as she sat on the couch next to Sheldon. "I guess it's just the two of us." She knew what her heart racing meant, but she didn't know how to proceed. She knew that they had grown closer in the past month, but Sheldon was still Sheldon. He wasn't like a regular guy. Or was he? She looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Whatever shall we do?"

Sheldon spread his hands out before him at the table. "Well, I for one am going to clean up this mess, since everyone else left without picking up a single carton."

_I guess he's still just Sheldon_

Penny sighed.

"Oh wait, did you mean could we do something together?"

There was hope for him yet she thought. "Uh-huh" Penny nodded her head.

He grinned down at her. "We could test your new laptop."

Penny frowned slightly.

He was getting better at reading her expressions. "No? He could play Halo or Wii."

Penny's eyebrows shot up. "Could we play Rock Band?"

Sheldon pursed his lips. "Only if you don't sing."

"Hey!" she lightly smacked him in the arm. "I'm getting better all the time!" Penny stood and picked up a couple of the containers of Thai food and walked towards the kitchen.

Sheldon said softly to himself. "Yes, yes you are."


	2. December 5th

**Chapter Two**

**December 5th**

Penny, Sheldon and Leonard sat on the couch watching _'The Stolen Earth'_ on BBC America.

Sheldon chastised Penny. "Penny, if you insist on talking could you please refrain from doing so until the commercial break?"

Penny gave her neighbor her patented glare. "Sheldon! You've seen this episode of Doctor Who at least fifty times, and you have the DVD. Why does it matter?"

Sheldon raised his eyebrows and stared balefully at her. "I seem to recall you shushing me during _'The Parting of the Ways'_."

"Alright…alright." Penny settled back into the couch cushion and looked to her right at Leonard who threw his hands up in an 'oh well' gesture. She turned to face the TV as Donna was telling the Doctor to turn around and ask Rose herself what she meant by 'the darkness is coming'. Penny smiled at the characters joy of seeing each other after so long. To have such a connection to another person, Penny sighed inwardly and looked sidelong at Sheldon and wondered if he ever felt the same way.

Sheldon could feel Penny looking at him. As he watched the Doctor running towards Rose, he looked to his right and met Penny's gaze. If only he could express to her that she was his Rose to his Doctor. Suddenly the TV blared out the Dalek's command 'EXTERMINATE!' Sheldon blinked a few times and turned his attention back to the screen and the moment was lost.

Leonard piped up as the end credits rolled. "So Penny, what were you saying?"

Penny looked down at her hands and picked at her nail polish. "It's just that…I was hoping I would have made more of myself by now. I've been out here for five years, and I've only gotten a handful of acting jobs in the past six months and I can't be a waitress forever. It's just seeing my parents face to face…they'll try to convince me to move back to Omaha."

Leonard's eyebrows moved together quizzically. "But this is your home now. Surely they want you to live your own life."

"They can be very convincing. The last time I visited home, I nearly did move back." Penny grabbed her bottle of water off the table and took a swig. She placed the bottle back down and put her head in her hands and started to cry. "I'm such a loser!"

"No you're not!" protested Leonard. "Tell her she's not Sheldon!"

Sheldon did not reply. He only stood up from the couch and strode over to his desk. He started quickly typing on his computer.

"Sheldon!" Leonard admonished him.

Sheldon still did not answer. He only spoke to himself, "A-ha!" and smirked. "That will do nicely." He pushed back from his desk and walked across the living room to the wireless printer by the front window. He inspected the pages, nodded his head, walked back to his desk and plucked a pen from the holder and returned to his spot on the couch. He handed the pen and papers to Penny. "Here."

Penny and Leonard turned and looked at each other each wondering what Sheldon was up to. Penny looked down at the paper Sheldon had handed to her. "Sweetie? What's this?"

Sheldon sighed loudly. "It's a common aptitude test."

Penny's jaw dropped up and immediately snapped shut. "An aptitude test Sheldon? I mean…what the hell!"

Leonard nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah Sheldon, what gives?"

Sheldon leaned in closer to Penny and her heart skipped a beat while he pointed to the paper she now had gripped tightly in her hands. "It's quite simple. You have been expressing your displeasure for the past week, no pardon me, and let me correct myself, since practically the day we first met, of your dead end job as a waitress."

"But Sheldon," Penny whined, "I want to be an actress! God, you sound like my Dad! Do you want me to move back to Nebraska too?"

"No, nothing of the sort!" Sheldon was flustered and began backpedaling as quickly as he could. "I am aware that you _are _an actress and would like to continue with your aspirations of that being your full time career. What I propose is that based on the results of this very thorough career aptitude test, you may be presented with alternatives to your current actual job situation."

Penny looked down at the questions on the paper and spoke softly. "Yeah, but what if this says the job I'm suited for needs some kind of college degree?"

Sheldon looked at her earnestly. "Again, simple, you'll go back to college and complete your degree."

"That's easy for you to say Sheldon." Penny shook her head in despair. "You're a brainiac. I'm just…me. And how would I pay for it? I'm barely scraping by now."

"I have no doubt in my mind that you would be able to handle it Penny. I have seen your ability to multi-task. I believe you are up for the challenge." Sheldon knew she could do it, if she could handle his routines, she could do anything.

Penny was flabbergasted. Sheldon had just complimented her and not even in a backhanded way. Leonard was shocked into silence. He kept opening and closing his mouth to say something, but nothing would come out. He stared at his roommate in wonder.

"Do you really think I could go back to school?" Penny looked up at her lanky neighbor and felt her chest tighten and butterflies started dancing in her stomach.

Sheldon looked directly into her bright green eyes. "Of course Penny."

They sat staring at each other for a few moments and the Penny broke into a huge smile. She grabbed Sheldon's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. She bounced off the couch and headed towards the door. "I better get started!"

Sheldon gave her his own goofy grin while he absentmindedly rubbed the hand Penny had squeezed with his other hand.

Leonard looked back and forth between Penny and Sheldon trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Once Penny left the apartment he turned his attention to Sheldon. "How did you do that?"

"How did I do what Leonard? How did I become the youngest Stevenson award winner until the unfortunate Dennis Kim? How did I discover the saturation point in which a piece of shredded wheat is no longer buoyant in lactose based liquid? You really need to be more specific!" Sheldon babbled at his roommate.

"Sheldon, don't be obtuse!" Leonard yelled at him. "You know exactly what I'm asking! How have you basically convinced Penny to go back to school? When I suggested it to her last year, she practically ripped my head off!"

Sheldon furrowed his brow. "But I didn't do anything Leonard. Penny decided for herself."

Leonard shook his head in wonder. How could he have not seen it before? His super egotistical self-confident roommate was helping boost his ex-girlfriend's self esteem, while she in turn was breaking down Sheldon's walls and making him more empathetic. He had always imagined them as polar opposites standing at either end of a teeter-totter. But, as either one of them took a step towards the center, the other took a step forward as well to keep it balanced. The last dying ember of what he romantically felt for Penny was squelched out with the growing warmth of happiness he felt for his two friends. He wondered if the two of them realized what was happening. Leonard stood up from the couch and headed towards his room. He turned back and said to his roommate. "I'm proud of you Sheldon."

"What for?" Sheldon queried. "Really Leonard, what did I just say to you about specifics?"

Leonard smiled at him and walked away. "I just am that's all."

* * *

Sorry it took so long to post this up because like Penny, I am a Saggitarius and it was my birthday this past week and I've been busy!


	3. December 16th

**Chapter Three**

**December 16th**

Sheldon held the door open for Penny. "Thank you for driving me to the comic book store Penny."

"It's no problem at all Sheldon. I was heading over here myself." Penny smiled brightly at him and then turned and waived to Stuart who was standing behind the counter. "Hi Stuart!"

Sheldon looked taken aback. "Why were you coming here?"

"None of your beeswax." Penny said as she pushed him towards the new comic book section. "I need to talk to Stuart for a while."

"How long is a while?" he asked, craning his neck around to look at her as she propelled him forward.

"Just a while Sheldon." Penny pointed to the wall of comic books. "Go!"

Penny went directly to the counter and started chatting amiably with Stuart. Sheldon tried to focus on the colorful artwork displayed in front of him while sneaking furtive glances over his shoulder. He tried to channel his hearing to pick up their conversation but could not mask out Captain Sweatpants animated chattering with another customer. The new Flash comic book finally gained his undivided attention until he heard Penny's giggly laugh, followed by an 'Oh Stuart!' Sheldon's stomach flipped over as he watched Penny lean over the counter and kiss Stuart on the cheek.

Sheldon strode quickly over to the counter. "We need to go now Penny!"

Penny watched as Sheldon's face began to twitch. "Is everything okay Sweetie? We only just got here and I know it usually takes a lot more time looking for what you want."

Sheldon gave a hard look at Stuart. "I already know what I want!"

Penny concerned over his agitated state asked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Sheldon whipped his hard gaze at her. "I'm fine!"

"Okay then," Stuart interjected and deftly pulled the comic out of Sheldon's hands. "I'll ring this up for you." He shook his head in confusion wondering what set off this latest bout of eccentricity.

---

Penny and Sheldon rode back in silence until around halfway back to the apartment. Penny slammed her hand down on the steering wheel. "Damn it Sheldon! Why were you so rude to Stuart?"

Sheldon turned to stare out the passenger window. "I wasn't aware that I had been rude to Stuart. In fact I barely said anything at all to Stuart. I don't see how I even had the chance to be rude to him."

"It was how you said those few words to him. And what was with the stink eye you were giving him?" Penny glanced over at him as she accelerated to pass an old lady driving a Buick.

Sheldon whipped his gaze to the speedometer. "Penny, please slow down!"

"Relax Sheldon, if I stayed behind that car I might as well have been going backwards." She glanced up into the rearview mirror to confirm how far back the other car already was.

"That is a completely illogical statement Penny. You could not be going backwards unless you drove the car in reverse." Sheldon annoyingly pointed out to her. "If you stayed behind that car you would only be moving at a slower rate of speed, which would not be a bad thing because it would give you adequate time to brake for the red light we are currently approaching."

"Oh really?" Penny pursed her lips and stared at him.

"Yes Penny." Sheldon's blue eyes became alarmed. "Penny…red light…RED LIGHT!"

Penny stomped on the brakes and smiled wickedly at him as he was thrown just a fraction forward in his seat.

"Are you trying to kill me woman?" Sheldon shrieked.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sheldon. That was rude of me." Penny said innocently.

Sheldon tightened his lips together. "Penny, if you are trying to convince me that I was rude to Stuart, you certainly are doing it in a convoluted way. And, in fact I was not rude to Stuart. I may have been curt with him, but I was not rude!"

"Curt...rude…whatever! Stuart's a nice guy. You shouldn't have been mean to him." The light turned green and Penny slowly let out the brake, but didn't floor the gas pedal like she had considered briefly.

"Are you entering into some sort of dating paradigm with Stuart again that would require me to be overtly pleasant to him?" Sheldon asked, feigning disinterest.

"What? No! We're not dating again. Why would you even think that?" Penny shook her head as she speculated what was going through Sheldon's mind.

"It was quite apparent by the way you were flirting with him at the store." Sheldon said tersely.

"Flirting with him? I was talking to him!" Penny reached back with her right arm to fish her purse from the backseat. She hooked the strap to her bag, yanked it forward and dropped it into Sheldon's lap. "Open it!"

"Penny, a woman's purse is sacrosanct. One does not delve into its contents lightly." Sheldon held his hands away from her satchel bag as though it was a ticking bomb.

"Just open the damn thing Sheldon. There's a paper bag inside that hopefully hasn't been all crinkled and smooshed." Penny gripped the wheel tightly trying to calm herself down.

Sheldon quickly unzipped her purse and nimbly pulled out a thin paper bag with the comic book store logo on it. He looked at Penny abashed. "What's this?"

Penny's voice dropped down a register. "Merry friggin' Christmas Sheldon! That's why I was talking to Stuart. He special ordered it for me."

Sheldon smoothed out the brown paper bag that was relatively undamaged after being wedged in between the contents of Penny's shoulder bag. "Penny…"

"Go ahead and open it." She was trying to stay mad, but was too excited to see his reaction.

Sheldon waited for Penny to turn and look at him before actually sliding out the gift she bought for him. Inside the paper bag, was a plastic sleeve that held a single comic book. Sheldon's eyes opened wide in awe. "Penny…Penny…do you know what this is?" he sputtered out, his voice breaking.

"Well yeah, silly, it's a present from me to you!"

"Penny, this is a Silver Surfer #1!" Sheldon's lower lip began to quiver. "It's too much Penny!"

Penny's heart melted whenever Sheldon let down his guard and let his emotions shine through. "It's not too much Sweetie. Not for you."

"But Penny!" Sheldon looked down at the revered comic book in his hands.

"Sheldon, after all that you've done for me lately…helping me with all the college stuff. You know, applying to schools, securing scholarships and grants, redoing my work schedule so I can still earn enough for rent and food and still be able to go to auditions." Penny smiled warmly.

"That was nothing Penny." Sheldon averted his gaze out the window again as they made the turn into the apartment building parking lot.

Penny pulled into a space and turned the engine off. She reached over and turned Sheldon's head to face her. "That was everything."


	4. December 23rd

**Chapter Four**

**December 23rd**

Penny burst into apartment 4A without even knocking. "I can't friggin' believe this!"

Sheldon was seated in his spot on the couch eating a bowl of Fruit Loops and watching the morning news. "Good morning to you too, Penny."

Penny flopped down on the couch next to Sheldon. "I'm sorry, but it's not a good morning at all. Just look!" She grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned the station to the Weather Channel.

"Penny, I was watching the news!" Sheldon admonished her. "Do I go into your apartment while you are watching television and randomly switch channels?"

Penny glared at him until he was silent. "Look at the weather Sheldon!"

Sheldon rolled his eyes at her but still turned to look at the screen. "What? Apparently it's going to be another beautiful day here in Pasadena."

"No Dr. Genius!" Penny waved her hand at the screen. "Look at Nebraska!"

A large swath of white and pink pixels showing a winter storm covered the whole state of Nebraska and rather a large portion of the entire Midwest.

"Oh. That indeed is not good." Sheldon looked at her thoughtfully. "What are you going to do?"

Penny frowned down at her hands. "I don't know."

A quick knock at the door preceded Howard dressed garishly in a bright green turtleneck with a plaid sweater vest and red pants. "Enchanté Mademoiselle. Your chariot or rather my mother's Oldsmobile has arrived to take you to the airport."

Penny smiled weakly at him. "It's no longer necessary Howard. My flight's been cancelled. The airport in Omaha is socked in."

"How long is the storm supposed to last?" Howard sat down next to her on the couch, took the remote from her hand and turned the sound up. "Do you think you can get another flight later today or tomorrow?"

"Fat chance. They say it's one of those hundred year blizzards. It's not supposed to stop snowing there until sometime tomorrow." Penny sighed and kept hoping the picture on the TV would change.

Howard, ever the optimist, smiled broadly at her. "Well see, there's a chance you'll still make it home for Christmas!"

Penny sighed again. "Can you imagine what the airport will be like? Fighting with all those other people to get a flight to the Midwest? And what if I do get a flight that ends up being diverted to some little podunk airport? I might get stuck in the middle of nowhere and be alone on Christmas!" Tears started to well up in her eyes and she sniffed heavily.

Howard looked over her at Sheldon and mouthed 'What do we do?' Sheldon shrugged and mouthed 'I don't know!' but started thinking.

"I'm going to be alone on Christmas!" Penny wailed. "Leonard already left to go to his Dad's in New Jersey. Raj is in India at his cousin's wedding and even Sheldon is going home to Texas!"

Howard looked nonplussed. "What am I? Chopped liver?"

"Oh, that's sweet honey, but I know you don't celebrate Christmas." Penny patted Howard on the arm.

"Well, neither does Raj…" Howard cut in. "But, I am celebrating Christmas this year with Bernadette and her family. I'm sure you'd be more than welcome to join us."

"Gee Howard, that's sweet. I don't know." She looked to Sheldon for help.

"I have an alternative option if you would like to hear it." Sheldon stood up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen with his cereal bowl.

"Lay it on me." Penny looked across the apartment at him with hope in her eyes because Christmas with Howard. _Oy vey!_

Sheldon turned from the sink. "You can come with me to Galveston." He held up his hand as he wasn't through speaking. "Once there if the weather has cleared you can get a flight from there to Omaha, and if the weather does not co-operate, you will not be alone on Christmas."

"Oh Sweetie!" Penny jumped up from the couch and ran into the kitchen and grabbed Sheldon in a bear hug. "That's perfect!"

Sheldon flushed at the physical contact and could not return the hug or extricate himself as Penny was squeezing him so tightly that she had trapped his arms to his sides. He only stammered out. "Of course…of course it is."

Howard stood up and headed toward the door. "Well, the chopped liver is heading out. I'll be back in a couple of hours to take you two to the train."

Penny stepped back from Sheldon and looked up at him questioningly. "The train?"

Howard called back from the door. "Spending Christmas with me isn't looking so bad now is it?"

Sheldon narrowed his eyes at him. "There is nothing wrong with taking the train. It's a relaxing journey, and you get to see the countryside. The vistas offered by New Mexico alone are quite stunning."

Penny gave Sheldon a small smile. "I guess the train doesn't sound so bad."

"Good. I'll contact Amtrak to get you a ticket. I already have a roomette reserved on the Sunset Limited."

**Union Station**

Penny and Sheldon waved Howard goodbye and boarded the train. Sheldon had gotten a compartment with the windows on the north side. They stowed their suitcases and stood in the tiny room.

Sheldon gestured at the seats separated by a small table. "Do you have a preference in which way you are facing? I am aware that some people can become quite nauseous if they do not face forward while traveling."

Penny shook her head. "No, I'm good either way. How about you?"

"I can sit in either seat as well." He stood back and let Penny sit first and then took the seat opposite her. "This is going to be fun!"

Penny couldn't help but grin at him. He was like a kid in a candy store. They heard the conductor shout 'All aboard' and the train lurched forward.

Sheldon broke into a huge natural smile and started jabbering about the train which Penny tuned out until he said. "You'll take the upper bunk and I'll take the lower one because of my height."

"Huh? What?" What do you mean bunk?" Penny looked at him with raised eyebrows.

Sheldon pointed above her head. "That bunk folds down, while the seats we are sitting in as well as this table become the lower bunk."

"No." Penny shook her head. "I mean why do we need bunks?"

Sheldon snorted in derision." I don't know about you, but I prefer to sleep lying down, not sitting up."

"Sheldon?" A note of warning crept into Penny's voice.

Sheldon looked out the window as the cityscape of LA rolled by. "Yes, Penny?"

"How long is it going to take to get to Galveston?"

As he looked back and forth at the city's buildings he replied. "From here to Houston it will take approximately thirty-six hours. There will be a brief stopover in Houston as we will need to get the Kerrville bus to Galveston. Which only takes an additional hour of travel time."

Penny was counting out the time on her fingers. "That means…"

He looked briefly at her hands and then back out the window. "We should arrive at my mother's home Christmas morning between six or seven o'clock local Galveston time."

"But thirty-six hours?" Penny stared at him incredulously.

"Penny, we're traveling across the breadth of four states. And, Texas is the largest state in the lower forty-eight contiguous states and Galveston is located on the Gulf Coast."

Penny still kept staring at him. "Tell me again why we're not flying?"

"I like trains." Sheldon said simply. "And if you give it a chance, you may find that you'll like it too." He finally looked away from the window to meet her stare with his own intense one.

Penny's heart beat started to match the clackity-clack rhythm of the train's wheels on the rails. That along with the searing gaze of Sheldon's bright blue eyes she nearly felt hypnotized. "You know what Sweetie? I think I will."


	5. December 24th

**Chapter Five**

**December 24th**

Penny slowly awoke to the snick of the compartment door softly opening and closing and to the smell of fresh brewed coffee. She had rolled over onto her stomach during the middle of the night and her head was already turned towards the door. She winked open her right eye to see Sheldon already dressed for the day carrying a large cup of coffee and a croissant. "Morning Moonpie!" Penny sighed sleepily from her upper berth on the train.

Sheldon placed the coffee and pastry on the table and glanced at his watch. "It's hardly morning anymore. I brought these back for you since the breakfast service was ending in the dining car. And, how many times to I have to tell you that only MeeMaw is allowed to call me that!"

"Well, I'll ask her when I meet her!" Penny teased him as she sat up and dangled her legs over the side of her bunk. Sheldon glared at her while she challenged him with a huge smile. Penny took a deep breath in and smelled the coffee again.

_Coffee first, then…then…what?_

She rolled over on her stomach and tried to feel where the table was with her foot so she could get down. "Uh, a little help here Sheldon!"

"Penny, you are not going to put your foot on the table we eat food on!" Sheldon blustered as he was greeted by the sight of Penny's backside draped in a pair of shortie pajama bottoms and two perfectly tanned legs. He stood behind Penny unsure of where to put his hands.

"Sheldon, I'm going to fall!"

He finally put a steadying hand on her waist while he guided her right leg to one of the train seats. Penny had nearly gotten her left leg to the floor when the train went around a bend on the track that caused her to lose her balance and tumble back into Sheldon. She thought she was going to knock both of them down but instead it felt like she hit a solid wall. Sheldon's left hand never left her waist and now his right came around to encircle her and keep her from falling.

"Whoa!" Escaped from Penny's lips.

Sheldon still had not let go of her. "Are you unharmed Penny?" A note of worry had entered his voice.

"No…no, I've never been better. I've…I've…" She stopped, unsure of how to express how she never felt more safe in her entire life than she did wrapped in his arms at this moment.

The train lurched again and Sheldon quickly let Penny go and dove for the cup of coffee that had moved perilously close to the edge of the table and threatened to spill its contents all over his messenger bag. He grabbed the cup and spun back to her, but wouldn't look directly at her. "You should drink this before it gets cold." His heart was racing. He had to get out. Before…

_Before what?_

"I'll go to the observation car while you do your morning ablutions and get dressed." Sheldon quickly said.

"Okay Sweetie." Penny looked up at him confused. She felt she had done something wrong, but she wasn't sure what it could have possibly been.

---

Once Penny had cleaned herself up as best as she could in the small communal bathroom, she returned to their compartment and put on a pair of black jeans and a lightweight short sleeved red sweater. She hastily dragged a brush through her hair, working out the knots that invariably invaded her hair every night while she slept. She put on a dab of lip gloss and headed out to find Sheldon.

She found him exactly where he said he would be. Only he was talking with great earnestness to a little girl with blonde braided pigtails who was listening with rapt attention. "Hey Sweetie, whatcha doing?"

Sheldon looked up her and grinned. Whatever had happened earlier in the room had apparently been cataloged away and forgotten. "Hello Penny! I was explaining to young Claudia here why train travel is much preferable to flying or driving."

"You are?" She smiled down at the little girl. "Isn't it exciting?"

The little girl bobbed her head up and down quickly. "Uh-huh!"

"Claudia!" The woman seated a few rows down and across from Sheldon called to the blonde girl. Come back over here so the lady can have her seat."

"Okay Mama!" Claudia sprang up from the chair and waved to the two of them. "Bye Sheldon! Bye lady!"

Penny and Sheldon waved after her as she skipped down the aisle to her mother.

"I didn't know you liked kids Sheldon." Penny said, feeling a warm glow bubbling up inside her that she couldn't quite explain.

Sheldon cocked an eyebrow and said sardonically. "I normally don't, but she so reminded me a great deal of someone I know, that I couldn't help but converse with her."

Penny gave him her toothiest grin and nudged him with her shoulder. "Aw, that's so sweet."

For all intents and purposes he had tried to be sarcastic and was going to tell Penny as such, but her smile was infectious so he squashed down the retort that was on his lips and said instead. "She appears to be quite bright."

Improbable as it seemed, Penny's smile grew wider. "So, have you made her into an avowed train traveler?"

"I would hope so." Sheldon answered quite thoughtfully.

"You know what Sweetie? You never really did explain why you never learned to drive as a teenager." Penny examined Sheldon's profile and saw a minute change in his expression as he pondered whether or not to tell her why.

He turned to face her with fear, no not fear, not quite guilt, maybe it was shame. He wiped his hands down the length of his thighs. "I did try to learn when I was seventeen."

"Oh my God! I knew it! What happened? Tell me everything!" Penny grabbed and shook him.

Sheldon started slowly, his eyes darting from Penny to back out the window. "I did not start my formal drivers training as one would normally do at age fifteen and a half due to the fact that I was a visiting professor in Germany at the time."

Penny gently prodded him. "But what about when you came home?"

"To be honest Penny, I never really felt the need that others do to drive an automobile. I lived in a city that offered a good public transportation system and still most everywhere I needed to go was within walking distance." Sheldon looked at her squarely as dispel any rebuke she might make.

Penny didn't want to tease him about it at all. She only wanted to know the truth. "You said most places? Didn't your parents pressure you to learn?"

Sheldon leaned back into the headrest. "My mom was adamant about it for a while. But, my dad never pushed. He was always telling my mom to give me time."

"Really?"

"Yes. Did I ever tell you he was a long haul truck driver?" The corners of Sheldon's lip turned up at the thought of his Dad.

"No way!" Penny's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "You would think that he would really want you to learn how to drive!"

"Make no mistake Penny, he very much wanted me to learn. He just didn't push me." Sheldon started to rub his fingers together and then began to pick at the cuff of his shirt sleeve. "Missy, on the other hand, did push."

Penny could see Sheldon's body tense up. "What did she do?"

"Missy decided she was going to teach me how to drive. She said she was, let me remember how she phrased it, 'tired of hauling my ass around'." Sheldon used air quotes to punctuate the remark.

"Go on." Penny put her left hand to her face. She had a bad feeling about where the story was going, but she was aching to find out what happened next.

"While Daddy was away on one of his trips, Missy took his car and we drove to the high school parking a lot so I could practice." Sheldon looked right through Penny as though he could see the scene right before his eyes. "It was a '66 metallic blue Ford Mustang. It was the very first car he ever owned. He loved that car Penny."

Penny started to cringe. "What happened?"

Sheldon's face began to twitch as the memory flashed through his mind. "You don't need to know the particulars Penny, but needless to say the car was damaged and I had to work all summer to pay for the repairs for it, as well as for a new goalpost for the football field."

Penny's hand moved from the side of her face to cover her mouth to stifle the giggle that threatened to burst from her. "Oh Sweetie, that's awful!"

"I'll tell you what's awful. Cleaning up the men's restroom at the truck stop I was forced to work at, that's awful." Sheldon frowned with distaste.

"Well, at least you're driving now." Penny tried to cheer him up.

"Barely."

Penny pointed it out to him. "You drove me to the hospital and back didn't you?"

Sheldon started to perk up. "Yes…yes I did."

Penny continued with her efforts to keep him from getting in a funk. "And other than being…on the cautious side, you did a great job."

Sheldon started to feel a heat spread through his chest, up his neck and to his face. "Thank you Penny."

Penny felt herself flushing as well. "Maybe when we get back home you can practice driving some more with me."

_And maybe go parking as well_

"That would be amenable to me." Sheldon said primly. "Although we will have to work it into your new schedule."

"What, you mean you haven't already scheduled Sheldon-time for me?" Penny grinned gleefully at him.

Sheldon returned her smile with his suddenly bashful one. "Yes, in fact I did."


	6. December 25th

**Chapter Six**

**December 25th**

Penny had fallen back asleep as soon as they boarded the bus to Galveston. During the short transit time her head had come to rest on Sheldon's right shoulder. Sheldon was frozen in place, the vanilla scent of her skin and her slow rhythmic breathing were mesmerizing. As the bus approached the terminal, Sheldon gently ran one finger along her cheek. "Penny, we have arrived."

Penny slowly blinked and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, but nestled in closer to Sheldon. "Mmm…too comfy…don't want to get up."

Sheldon counted to ten and reminded himself to breathe. "We have to go Penny. Remember, it's Christmas."

Penny's eyes shot open. "Christmas! Yay! Did you say we're here?"

As the bus drew to a stop, Sheldon glanced out the window and saw his brother Duke leaning against his pickup truck. "Yes Penny, we're in Galveston."

Penny leaned across him and caught sight of Duke. She waved to him excitedly.

"I doubt he can see you Penny. The lights on the bus are dimmed and the windows are tinted."

Nonetheless Duke waved towards the bus. "He can see me!" Penny stuck her tongue out at Sheldon and stood up and threw on her cream colored hoodie. She looked back down at Sheldon who hadn't made a move. "What are you waiting for Sweetie? Let's go see your family!" Penny grabbed his hand and yanked him up. Sheldon let Penny lead him down the aisle of the bus and out into the cool morning air of Galveston.

Duke ambled over to the bus where the luggage was being unloaded. He quickly noted that his brother was allowing the beautiful blonde to hold his hand. "Well, hey there Penny! Aren't you the prettiest thing I've seen in a while?" He enveloped Penny in a big hug.

Penny pulled away from him and smacked his chest. "You lie! I caught my reflection in the rearview mirror as we got off the bus. But, it's nothing a hot shower and a hot cup of coffee won't fix."

"I have a thermos of tea in the truck if that'll help." Duke let go of Penny and did the one arm embrace with his brother. "I'm glad you're home Petunia."

Penny playfully smacked Duke upside the back of his head. "Strike one!"

Sheldon smirked in his brother's direction as the older man shook his head. He had hoped the petite woman would rub off on his brother, not the other way around. "Can I at least call him Shelly?"

As they climbed into the cab of the F-150, Penny said 'Yes' while Sheldon said 'No'.

Duke grinned mischievously at Penny. "Well then I guess that's settled, Shelly!" He handed the thermos to Penny who was wedged between him and Sheldon in the front seat. "I hope you don't mind but its half cream and has about five spoons of sugar in it."

Penny took the little plastic mug off the top, unscrewed the cap and inhaled deeply. "Mmm…this is perfect." She quickly poured herself a brimming cup before the truck started moving. She nosily slurped about one third of it before handing it to Sheldon so she could recap the thermos. "This is really good."

Sheldon took a sip from the cup and agreed. "Duke always did make a nice cup of tea."

Duke only stared at the two of them. Truly Christmas was a time for miracles, not just one, but two! A compliment from his brother and neurotic germaphobe boy just drank from the same cup as another human being. Duke threw his right arm around Penny and gave her a quick squeeze. "Penny, this is going to be the best Christmas ever!"

---

Duke pulled his truck in front of the doublewide trailer. Nearly every inch of the tiny lawn was festooned with decorations. "You should have seen it all lit up last night. You could practically land a plane by it, it was so bright."

Penny tried to take it all in. "Well, as long as it worked for Santa." She cracked as she followed Duke and Sheldon up the walkway.

Duke and Sheldon stopped short, looked at each other and then back at Penny. Duke arched an eyebrow towards his brother and motioned his head as to say 'you tell her'.

Sheldon paused and chose his words precisely. "Penny, despite the crass commercialism displayed on the front lawn, and dear lord, the roof, our mother very much prefers to keep the 'Christ' in Christmas. I must ask you to refrain from using the 'S' word."

"Oh," Penny nodded her head. "I'll try as long as you don't use your 'S' word Sheldon."

Sheldon knotted his eyebrows together. "My 'S' Word?"

With a wry look on her face, she turned to look up at him. "Saturnalia."

---

Penny lost track of time as she stood under the spray of the shower working out the kinks in her body brought on by a day and a half of traveling. She was brought back to reality by a loud banging on the door followed by it being opened by Mary Cooper.

"Come on darlin', time's a-wastin'. You need to hurry up and get ready if we're to make it to services on time!"

Penny peeked out from behind the shower curtain and wiped the shampoo from her eyes. "Um, services?"

"Christmas services, young lady." Mary narrowed her eyes at Penny. "Maybe you can convince Shelly to go."

Penny gave her a tight smile. "If I'm going, you better believe he's going too!"

**Four hours later**

Penny looked sheepishly at Sheldon. "I thought you were kidding about the fruitcake."

Sheldon admonished her. "I never kid."

---

Penny and Missy were curled up on the sofa looking through a photo album and giggling. Sheldon glanced across the room at them and Penny pointed at the page in front of her. "Who knew you had such a cute tushie!"

"Well, now we're even." He quipped at her.

"Hardly." Penny teased. "This is only a picture!"

Missy looked bewildered. "Did I miss something?"

Sheldon opened his mouth, but was interrupted by the doorbell. Missy glanced out the window and squealed. "MeeMaw is here!"

Missy jumped up off the couch and barreled into Sheldon as they both rushed to open the door first. They tried to shoulder each other out of the way, but Missy won out when she stomped her heel on Sheldon's toes. While Sheldon hopped up and down on one foot shooting death glares at his twin, Missy opened the door swiftly and Penny got her first glimpse of MeeMaw. She wasn't anything like her own Grammie who was small and plump and exuded friendliness. The woman at the threshold was tall and stood ramrod straight, her silver hair was pulled up in a tight bun and she looked like she never cracked a smile in her life.

Virginia Cooper took a long look at her twin grandchildren. "You two stop whatever you are doing and give your MeeMaw a kiss." Sheldon and Missy again tried to elbow each other to get to her first. "My arms are still big enough for the both of you."

"How about all three of us?" Duke asked as he pushed his smaller siblings aside.

After all the hugging and kissing was done, MeeMaw spied Penny standing back from the melee at the door. She cocked her eyebrow in what Penny could only describe as in a Sheldonesque way. "Is this her, Moonpie?" Sheldon looked to Penny and back to his MeeMaw for a sign of approval. "Penny, may I introduce you to my MeeMaw, Mrs. Virginia Cooper. MeeMaw this is my…my…"

Duke whacked Sheldon on the back. "Spit it out Shelly!"

"…my Penny. I mean my neighbor, Penny." Sheldon sputtered out.

Penny reached forward to shake the older woman's hand. MeeMaw had a handshake like a vice grip. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mrs. Cooper."

"I'll have none of that Mrs. Cooper talk, it makes me feel old. Call me Ginny." While her words were polite enough, her face was impassive as stone. Penny wasn't sure if the woman liked her or not.

Mary came through the swinging door from the kitchen carrying one of the dishes for the table. "Oh good, Mother Cooper you're here! Your timing is always impeccable."

Ginny gave a hard look to all three of her grandchildren and Penny. "Mary, don't tell me you're doing all the preparations by yourself!"

The protestations call fast and hard. 'She threw us out!' 'She won't let us help!' 'I can boil water, but I'm not sure about the other two!'

"It's alright Mother, I've got in under control. Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes." Mary wiped her hands down the front of her apron and headed back into the kitchen.

Ginny tsk-tsked and turned to Penny. "You'll sit next to me. I've heard a great deal about you, but I need to hear it for myself."

Penny, normally sure of herself in social situations suddenly felt as awkward as Raj was around women. She couldn't even squeak out an answer, so she just nodded her head and smiled. She thought if his MeeMaw didn't like her, Sheldon would never even…could he ever think of her like that anyway?

---

Mary took her seat at one end of the table, with Duke at the opposite end, now that he was the 'man' of the family. Missy and Sheldon were on his right, while MeeMaw and Penny sat to his left. Mary held out her hand signaling for everyone to clasp hands together for grace before the meal. She turned to Penny on her right. "Penny, as our guest it would be an honor if you would say the blessing."

Penny took in a deep breath. She could do this. If she could only remember any kind of blessing. Then, it just popped into her head and was out of her mouth before she could stop it. "Good food, good meat, good God, let's eat!"

A low rumble started next to Penny's right, followed by a loud guffaw from Ginny and the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. Ginny whammed her on the back. "I knew I would like you! It's just like having my George here with us again!"

Penny whipped her gaze from Ginny to Mary who was dabbing her eyes with her napkin, but also had a huge smile on her face. In fact all the Coopers were in some form or another either smiling or wiping away tears.

"What did I tell you Mother? Is she a peach or what?"

Penny looked across at Sheldon. "What did I do?"

Missy answered for him. "That was Daddy's favorite blessing!"

Ginny squeezed Penny's hand. "Yep, a real peach."

---

Dinner went on without a hitch. Everyone ate too much and many stories were told. As everyone pushed back from the table to give their stomachs more room, Ginny turned to Penny. "So, Sheldon tells me you're going back to school. An education is a wonderful thing. I've a mind to go back myself."

Penny beamed at her. "I couldn't have done it without Sheldon. He reworked my schedule and found me some terrific scholarships. One in particular, the Utah Memorial Fund, is covering almost half of my tuition.

Ginny who had been taking a sip of cranberry juice, started to choke on her drink. A few drops spilled down the front of her white blouse. Everyone around the table cried in alarm to see if she was okay. "I'm alright, I just need to get some water on this before it stains." She looked across the table at Sheldon. "You…come with me to the kitchen…to help me."

Once they were through the door to the kitchen, Missy whispered to Duke. "I wonder if the Utah Memorial Fund is in Salt Lake?"

Duke look puzzled. "Huh?"

"SLC, stupid! Don't you remember that PopPop used to call Sheldon Utah because of his initials?" Duke and Missy looked at each other and then over at Penny, both smiling like Cheshire cats.

---

Meanwhile in the kitchen MeeMaw was dabbing at her blouse with a paper towel. "Sheldon Lee Cooper, do you mind explaining yourself to me?"

Sheldon wouldn't meet her eyes. "I don't know what you mean, MeeMaw."

Ginny went over and took Sheldon's face in her hands. "Moonpie, the money your grandfather left you was for your future."

Sheldon raised his eyes from the floor to meet his grandmother's. This was the woman who always supported him, who was always there for him whether it was a scraped knee or a prestigious award. He could always tell MeeMaw the truth without being judged. "Penny _is_ my future."

"Are you sure she's the one?" Ginny gently patted his cheek.

Sheldon didn't know how to explain it to her, he could hardly explain it to himself. "MeeMaw, Penny's like…she's like a burrowing wood tick…"

It was at that moment that the door to the kitchen swung open with Penny leading the way in front of Duke and Missy carrying dirty dishes from the dining room.

"Excuse me?" Penny's voice immediately sent out a warning alarm. "Did you just compare me to a blood sucking parasite?"

Sheldon panicked. "No…no, that's not what I meant! MeeMaw, please help me!"

MeeMaw patted him on the arm. "You're on you own on this one." She grabbed Missy and Duke on the way out.

"But we want to watch!" Missy whined.

Penny walked over to Sheldon at the sink and stood toe to toe with him. Her green eyes pierced through his body. "Well?"

"Penny, what I was attempting to tell MeeMaw was that like the burrowing wood tick, you have gotten under my skin without me even realizing it."

"Wow Sheldon, that's…I don't even know what to say to that." Penny shook her head, no girl wants to be compared to an insect.

"Penny, you don't have to say anything." Sheldon took a step closer and raised his hands as to put them on her arms.

Mary poked her head through the door. "If you two are done fightin', MeeMaws going to read us 'The Gift of the Magi'.

Sheldon dropped his hands to his sides and backed way from Penny and headed out to the living room. Penny wanted to ring his neck, but it would have to wait for later. Ginny was already ensconced in a rocking chair, Mary was in a wingchair and Missy and Duke were settled in on the couch.

Penny went to sit down next to Missy. Sheldon stopped her before her butt reached the cushion. "That's my spot!"

Penny looked around, she'd have to drag a chair form the dining room or sit on the floor. On the floor like an insect! A friggin' wood tick! Penny thought about the time she had gotten a tick in her leg. She hadn't even known it was there, and couldn't get rid of it even when she tried. In fact, she had to go to the doctor to get it removed. "Oh!" The realization of what Sheldon meant hit her like a ton of bricks and a feather pillow at the same time. She looked down at him, all settled in his spot of his mother's couch and sat right down in his lap.

"Penny, this is my spot!" Sheldon cried out, although his arms acted of their own accord and encircled her waist. "The Paulie Exclusion principle explains to us that no two objects can occupy the same space at the same time."

"But, I'm not in your spot."

"Yes, but you're trying to be in my spot."

Penny smiled at him and ran her fingers through the back of his hair. "No Sweetie, you are in your spot, and I'm in mine."

Sheldon swallowed thickly, his eyes never leaving hers. "Your spot?"

"Your lap is my spot, and no one else can ever sit there." Penny leaned in and kissed him softly.

Sheldon's arms tightened around her and pulled her closer. Three years he had waited for this, Penny tasted as sweet as she truly was.

They only broke apart when the din of Mary's 'Hallelujahs' followed by 'praise the Lord' intruded into their consciousnesses.


	7. December 27th

**Chapter Seven**

**December 27th**

Penny entered the train compartment to find Sheldon already in his Sunday pajamas and tucked into his bunk typing away at his laptop. She stowed her toiletry bag in her suitcase and pulled out a small package wrapped in red and green Christmas paper. Penny plunked herself on the edge of the bed next to Sheldon's knees and handed the package to him.

"Penny, why are you giving me a Christmas present when it is two days past Christmas?" Sheldon wondered if there was some sort of relationship ritual that he had missed.

Penny rolled her eyes at him. "It's not from me, it's from Duke. He handed it to me when he dropped us off for the bus. He said it was for the both of us and not to open it until we were ready for bed."

"That's odd." Sheldon turned the box over in his hands and shook it. He could hear something lightly rattle inside. "I wonder what it could be."

Penny said cheekily. "A very smart man once told me the only way to find out is to open it! Oh wait, there's a card too!" Penny quickly retrieved the card and returned to sit next to Sheldon. She tore open the envelope to reveal a card with a bucolic snow scene. She flipped it open and in Duke's tight script it only said 'You're ready'. She looked at Sheldon with raised eyebrows.

Sheldon carefully slid his fingers under the tape and removed the paper. As soon as it was unwrapped he started to sputter out useless trivia and wouldn't make eye contact with Penny. "Did you know that the Trojan War was started after Paris stole Helen from her husband Menelaus?"

Penny saw the box of condoms and faintly blushed. She reached over and closed Sheldon's laptop, and put it away in his messenger bag, all while Sheldon kept spewing information about the Achaeans and Spartans.

"That was the movie with Brad Pitt?" Penny climbed into the bunk and put her hands on Sheldon's face so he would look at her.

"Yes." Sheldon answered, but could not meet her eyes. He was blushing furiously and Penny could feel the heat from his face in her hands.

Penny leaned in and kissed Sheldon on the neck just slightly under his ear. "I don't want to talk about the Greeks."

Sheldon shivered and sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"

Penny's lips whispered across his cheek. "I want to talk about trains."

"Trains?" Sheldon finally looked into her eyes and was riveted. He raised his hand to brush a strand of Penny's hair away from her face.

"Yeah, I really like…trains." Penny kissed the corner of his mouth. "In fact, I think I love…trains."

Sheldon, for once in his life, picked up on the subtlety of what Penny was saying. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. "I love…trains too."

_fin._

* * *

**A/N**: I hope you have all enjoyed this. I hope to in the future continue the saga of my AU Sheldon & Penny. Maybe a trip to her parents at Easter? I'm not promising anything, but it's rattling around in my brain. I've got a picture in my mind of Penny's parents (think Virginia Madsen and Clancy Brown). And whenever I think of MeeMaw I see Frances Sternhagen.

Thank you again for all the kind reviews, they really keep me going. Live long and prosper!


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